Brentwood U15s 69 Harlow U15s 12

Brentwood put in barnstorming performance…

The game began with the boys all looking like they were going to cry when Carla told them tour was cancelled as a nasty April Fools joke. Well evidently Ian and she don’t have a conscience because anyone who did couldn’t have put up with the disappointment on the boy’s faces. Fortunately the boys aren’t actually as thick as they look and more surprisingly yet it was a couple of the forwards who first worked out it was the first of April. Carla, Ian, how do you sleep at night…

The game started well for Brentwood, Chris McCarthy dropping the kick off. Why was that good? Well he was playing for Harlow! Brentwood pounced on the loose ball, the forwards recycled quickly and Chris Doble was over the line to score. Billy’s conversion was over (don’t faint) and Ian kindly suggested maybe he should be subbed now whilst he still had a 100% record. 7-0 Brentwood.

Brentwood was just as successful from the next restart, again reclaiming the ball and the forwards surging forwards. Billy produced a nice jink through very little space and Ollie was bundled over the try line. Billy nailed the conversion, odd… 14-0 Brentwood.

The next restart saw Harlow keep hold of possession for a period but eventually possession was turned over by the forwards and both Billy and new recruit Paul made good darts, taking Brentwood nearer and nearer the try line again. Chris Doble was helped over by his fellow forwards for his second of the day. Billy’s conversion again went over, 3 in a row leading me to ask someone if actually I was imaging this. 21-0 Brentwood and another shocked spectator yelled, “Billy are you ill?!” to which he replied, “What can I say, I’m amazing” only to be prevented his moment of glory by Ian chipping in with a “Maybe you should try working on your passing then”

The next passage of play belonged to Harlow as they kept hold of the ball and managed to work some space. They exploited this space well and aided by a few dodgy tackles to score well in the corner. The conversion missed, 21-5 Brentwood.

Brentwood had the last word in the first half though, the move started in the backs, Sam Fry running a good line down the middle and offloading, the ball being spread quickly to Dan on the wing. He flung the inside ball to the supporting Chris Doble who crossed the line for his hat trick (and a jug from Steve). Normal service was resumed as Billy’s conversion missed, 26-5 Brentwood and half time.

Acute tour-itis otherwise known as tour enthusiasm was the diagnosis given of Ian’s unusually perky mood through out the 2^nd half, in fact he was so upbeat he didn’t even say stupid once and actually even said great at one point in a strictly non sarcastic way.

The second half began with some good running but Chris McCarthy, who’d swapped back to Brentwood at half time, knocked the ball on leading to queries of whether Harlow could have him back! Brentwood however regained control and a bundle over the line saw Luke, Charlie and William all claiming the try. Charitably at the end of the game Luke and William agreed Charlie did the hard work so he could have it. Billy kicked the conversion again, this was all getting a little strange… 33-5 Brentwood.

At 33-5 down the last thing you really want to see is James charging at you full tilt, however unfortunately for the Harlow fullback this is exactly what happened. Credit to the fullback who prepared himself for the tackle, which ended up looking like a Jonah Lomu, Mike Catt moment but did however cause James to lose his momentum and be hauled down by some covering defence. The Harlow fullback, braver than many, also managed to get up, nothing short of a minor miracle, I personally would have waved James straight through to the try line!

Despite being stopped, James’ run had set up good field position for Brentwood and a good run from Jordan saw the offload go to Billy who not only scored but converted the try too. 40-5 Brentwood.

The surreal moment of Billy knocking over another conversion was followed by an even more surreal event when Ian didn’t get in a huff when William knocked the ball on in a good position, but did in fact say “Well done Wills, good support play” what on earth was going on? Jupiter must have aligned in a weird way with Pluto or something like that…

A pause in play saw Chris Doble and Sam Fry become the next Harlow converts, with Chris shifting to the Harlow number 8 position and Sam Fry to er…second row. His mum was less than impressed, “He can’t play there, what about his ears?!”

A Brentwood scrum was up next, Michael picking the ball up from the number 8’s feet and going on a typical scrum half dart round the scrum to dive over in the corner. Billy’s conversion only just missed from out wide, 45-5 to Brentwood.

Brentwood were again rampant from the restart with James popping up on the wing this time to make a good run and popping the ball out to supporting Joe, who was injured by a Harlow clad Sam Fry in a tackle, smooth… Sam was promptly removed from the field to prevent further injury to his teammates.

Another scrum saw a Brentwood number 8 pick up, which turned into a maul. The maul went over the line and in the melee William got the ball down. Billy again kicked the conversion, 52-5.

Brentwood’s next try was debatable. The build up was good, a good pick up by Michael, passed to Jordan who jinked about and produced some space from absolutely nowhere, went to dive over the line and appeared to drop the ball. The try was awarded; I however would have liked to have consulted the television match official…Billy’s conversion dropped short, 57-5.

In spite of the score line Harlow hadn’t stopped trying to play and were rewarded for their efforts when Brentwood made a hash of clearing up a good kick by Harlow and Chris Doble, playing for Harlow, pounced and scored his fourth of the day (no you can’t add that on to your try scoring tally for the season). He got a few ‘friendly’ punches for his troubles but ultimately Harlow had deserved the try, even if a Brentwood boy scored it. The conversion went over, 57-12.

The penultimate try of the game came from a loose Brentwood kick. It bounced cruelly for Harlow and then bobbled around on the floor where Brentwood pounced, won the ball back and flicked it out to Joel for an easy run in. Golden boots Billy again converted, 64-12.

The last try was a forward effort, another charge downfield, another bundle in the corner, Carl emerging with the ball to claim the try. Billy’s last conversion missed, admittedly not by much and amazingly the boy who’s normally nearer to the corner flag than the posts had managed 7 out of 11, according to my trusty calculator that’s 64%! And they say miracles don’t happen…Final score Brentwood 69, Harlow 12.